Freshly trained LA-RFO team recognized for saving life
By Dick Devlin, LA-RFO Public Affairs 

New Orleans, La. – Four Cameron parish debris team members received the Department of Army Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service last week at the Louisiana Recovery Field Office (LA-RFO) in New Orleans.

The award is equivalent of the Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Service Medal used to recognize military members for life and property saving actions. The presentation was made by Michael Park, the LA-RFO’s director.

The award recipients were recognized for their attention to detail and quick reaction on May 4, 2006, in saving the life of a truck driver delivering debris to the Wilkerson landfill in Cameron Parish in southwest Louisiana.  

Award recipients were:

• Justin Bult, a Lake Charles Corps contract recovery employee

• Debra Christie, a Tulsa natural resources specialist and mission volunteer

• Robert McKechnie, a Detroit lock and dam mechanic and mission volunteer

• Yvett Young, a Sweet Lake Corps contract recovery employee

According to on-scene medical personnel, had the team not taken immediate action to treat the victim for heat stroke on site, the driver would certainly have perished. 

The team had just completed safety training that week in which heat-related conditions, symptoms, and actions to be taken were covered by the local Safety Office. A heat stress fact sheet and OSHA quick card had been stapled to the wall of the tower. 

The team, to a person, credited their recent training with helping them make the right decisions in dealing with the emergency. 

The driver had stopped at the site’s control tower after changing a flat tire in the dump when the tower monitor team noticed he was exhibiting the signs of heat stroke.   

The quality assurance team swung into action, wetting down paper towels with ice and ice water from one of their coolers to help cool the driver.   They provided available fluids and asked about medications and medical conditions.  

After being treated by on-scene and hospital medical teams, the driver was released to go back to work two days later. The driver made a complete recovery.